Remembering a Happy Time

All-- Dad's condition is pretty much the same now as it was yesterday evening. The only difference is that the medical team has put an oxygen mask on him to assist him with pain-free breathing. I will keep you updated if anything changes.

I do appreciate those of you that we've heard from regarding your "Norm Story." Since I posted that item yesterday, I've thought a little more about it and I'd like to ask you to send me your "Norm Story" via e-mail. I'm not exactly sure what I'll do with them right now, but I'd love to have them if possible. You can send them to jondparks@gmail.com. I greatly appreciate your willingness to share your stories about dad.

And speaking of sharing, I have a couple of photos to share with each of you (side & below). Last Saturday was my daughter's 4th birthday. She was very excited about her birthday because it would be at Rolesville Park and would involve birthday cake! But we were excited, too, because we knew that mom and dad would be able to come over that morning to watch Anna run around and play with all of her friends and they'd get to see Ryan working on taking steps as he gets closer to walking on his own.

Well, we had a great time. Dad was doing quite well and enjoyed every minute of it. Mom got to hold Ryan's hands and walk around under the picnic shelter. And towards the end, we took two photos that I'll always treasure. One is of Dad and Ryan with Dad looking down on him and the other is of Mom, Dad, Melinda, Anna and Ryan. In retrospect, it seems as though one of the things that dad was holding on so he could be included in was Anna's birthday. That was special and I'm glad that it worked out that he and mom were able to attend.

At Long Last-- An Update

Hello all. I realize that I've been gone from this blog for an incredibly long time. I apologize for the absence. Unfortunately, the only explanation I have is that sometimes life just takes over. After my last update, my own family's health took a rough turn. All four of us were sick and it took over for a couple of weeks. At a couple of points, we had to take our daughter to the hospital due to dehydration. There were many long nights, but all is much better now.

So, on to the updates. In early February, we found out that the cancer was 1) not really responding to the radiation/chemo, and 2) has spread from his brain to his chest/abdomen. Clearly, that was not the news we were hoping for. Dr. O sent dad over right away to begin a new chemo treatment that is administered by IV once every three weeks. Unfortunately, it takes about 5-6 hours to complete the treatment and it leaves him feeling quite lethargic. Since this initial treatment, he's done two more (the most recent one was today).

So, here's where things really started to change. After the first treatment, dad's physical condition began to improve dramatically. He was able to get around somewhat with the aid of the walker/cane and even on his own. He's gotten out quite a bit in the past month and done a lot. In fact, dad and I got to go to the Duke/Carolina game in Cameron (see photos) the day after his first treatment and he even got to go to a Duke team practice before the second game against Carolina. He got to meet Coach K, had his picture made with Greg Paulus and watched the entire practice! It was quite an event!

He continued to do physical therapy up through last week. But he's now going to be doing several of the exercises at home.

Yesterday was a special day-- it was dad's 59th birthday. Cassie took him to his office where many of his co-workers gathered to throw him a birthday party. He enjoyed the time together with them and celebrating this wonderful milestone! Later that evening, Cassie, her husband Josh, Mom, Aunt Betty and I gathered for a simple family dinner to celebrate. And later, several friends came over to enjoy the evening with dad. They swapped stories, laughed and listened as dad told stories of what's been going on during the past several months. In all, it was a touching evening and we were all glad to be there to celebrate with him.

Which brings us to today. As I mentioned, dad had his 3rd chemo treatment today. While I was with him at the Rex Cancer Center, he was quite drowsy from the active night before, but he was looking forward to completing the treatment so he could head for home. He's home tonight and resting a lot. Based on how things have gone the past couple of times, he's likely going to be sleepy and groggy for the next few days as his body feels the effects of the chemo.

So, that covers a lot of ground, but hits many of the highlights. I'm sorry that I've been gone from this blog for so long, but I'm back and will do my best to keep you up-to-date. When you read this, please forward it to your friends and contacts to let them know that the blog is active once again. And, as always, please pray for dad, mom and all of us to ask God to provide us with strength and to heal dad, if it is God's will.

Much love and thanks,
Jon